[Page 1] “From Trauma to Triumph”

They say we moved up from slavery,

that we are “moving on up” like the Jeffersons,

like there is nowhere else to move but up from here.

They say you can’t take it with you,

you can’t buy yourself happiness,

that money is the root of all evil.

They say we are The Talented Tenth,

our ancestors' wildest dreams,

The hopes of the slave embodied.

They say you are more than your trauma,

more than a victim,

more than a conqueror.

We say that joy comes in the morning,

that the rising sun is always guaranteed and every day is a blessing.

We say there’s always time to change,

to change direction,

to change who you think you are,

to change for Good.

You say there’s more to you than meets the eye,

you say that you are not just a generation,

you’re a legacy.

[Page 2] This Dark Magical Moment

In the middle of the morning, like a thief in the day I am overcome.

Overcome with knowing, remembrance, and a wistfulness.

A wondering longing for something more, yet not at all sure what more is.

This longing to know is a compulsion onto itself.

A never ending needling in the back of the mind that something is missing,

there is something that still needs to be gotten,

but what is there left to get?

Life is itself a mystery,

the path only illuminated so much ahead that you can see your own two feet,

but where is the path taking you?

You really don’t know?

Then where are you going?

Where will you end up?

At the bottom of some dark and forbidden place or at the top of a mountain?

But wouldn’t you be able to tell if you were climbing a mountain, [Page 3]

wouldn’t you feel the climb,

can your body not sense upward mobility?

How is it possible that moving upwards could be confused for dissent.

Are you that unsure of where you will end up?

Is this your first time going anywhere?

First time out the house it would seem.

I bet you still don’t know how to act,

have you learned to behave yet,

Are you a good girl now?

Do you deserve that climb?

Maybe you should sit down,

have a glass of water,

a whole bottle,

you’re thirsty,

you look parched,

catch your breath little girl.

Why do you question yourself as if you don’t know who you are or where you are?

Look around little girl,

you are here and it is certainly no deep dark dungeon.

It is a dark moment

at the midpoint of a magical moment

and you’ve only gotten part way through your climb.